Bengals Place John Ross On IR
Receivers are dropping like flies. Just moments after we heard the Chargers were placing Dontrelle Inman on injured reserve, we got word of another wideout hitting the shelf. The Bengals are placing John Ross on IR, according to a tweet from Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic.
Dehner notes that the Bengals have promoted receiver Stanley Morgan from the practice squad in a corresponding roster move, and that it’s a sternocavicular injury for Ross. We heard yesterday that Ross was going to miss some time, but it was initially reported as something that would sideline him for around a month. Now, he’ll have to miss the next eight weeks at least. On the bright side Ross is expected back this season, and the injury had about a six-week timetable but the Bengals wanted to give him extra rest, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
It’s a tough blow for Ross, and for the Bengals’ offense. The ninth overall pick of the 2017 draft, who had been written off by many as a bust, was finally starting to make an impact. Injuries and a lack of trust from Marvin Lewis had plagued Ross’ first two years in Cincy, but he had 270 yards through the first two games of this season and was starting to look like the elite deep threat he was supposed to be.
With A.J. Green still not set to return anytime soon, the Bengals’ 0-4 offense is in dire circumstances. Second-year seventh-round pick Auden Tate will now be asked to play a big role moving forward. Morgan is an undrafted rookie from Nebraska who was waived at final cuts.
Chargers Place WR Dontrelle Inman On IR
The injuries continue to pile up for the Chargers. Los Angeles is placing veteran receiver Dontrelle Inman on injured reserve, according to Daniel Popper of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Inman started his career with the Chargers, and he had some real success in San Diego. In 2016 he had a breakout year, 58 passes for 810 yards and four touchdowns. He was traded to the Bears the following year, and things quickly went downhill for him. He had 334 yards in eight games with Chicago, and 304 yards in nine games with the Colts last year. He signed with the Patriots earlier this offseason, but then requested and was granted his release back in August.
Not long after, he was swooped up by the Chargers. Inman started Los Angeles’ game against the Dolphins this past week due to an injury to Mike Williams and he was very productive, racking up 76 yards on five catches. Unfortunately he also picked up a quad injury that will now sideline him for at least the next eight weeks. As Popper points out, the Chargers’ once promising receiving corp now only has three healthy options in Keenan Allen, Geremy Davis and Andre Patton.
John Ross To Miss Multiple Games
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but John Ross is going to be missing time with a significant injury. The talented but oft-hurt receiver will miss multiple games due to a shoulder injury he suffered on Monday Night Football against the Steelers, sources told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Garafolo notes that his time on the sidelines “could be in the range of a month or so.” It’s devastating news for Ross, as he was finally starting to come on strong. Injuries have plagued the ninth overall pick of the 2017 draft during his football career, dating all the way back to an ACL tear he suffered in college. Knee and shoulder issues limited him as a rookie, and he ended up in Marvin Lewis’ doghouse.
Ross was frequently a healthy scratch under Lewis as a rookie, and after an underwhelming sophomore season, many people labeled him a bust. He reportedly had a strong offseason, and started to thrive in new coach Zac Taylor’s system. He had 270 yards receiving and three touchdowns through the first two weeks of the season, and looked like the blazing fast deep threat he was always supposed to be coming into the league.
Now, it’s yet another setback for the Washington product. It’s also the last thing this Bengals team needed, as their offense looked terrible on Monday night in a 27-3 loss to Pittsburgh. A.J. Green doesn’t look like he’s particularly close to returning from his ankle injury, so Cincinnati’s receiving corp will be very thin moving forward. They’ll be leaning heavily on Tyler Boyd moving forward. Taylor’s tenure has gotten off to a disastrous start, as the Bengals are now 0-4. He’ll try to pick up his first win as a head coach in Week 5 against the Cardinals.
Patriots Release Cameron Meredith
The Patriots are throwing in the towel on Cameron Meredith. New England is releasing the veteran receiver, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
It’s another setback for the once promising wideout, who has been dealt a very tough hand in recent years. Meredith had been on the PUP list to start the season, and Yates notes that he was still unable to fully recover from his knee injury. There was an initial thought in the building that “2019 would be a year to get healthy with an eye toward 2020,” tweets Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, who notes that obviously “those plans have now changed.”
Meredith originally signed a two-year deal back in early August shortly after the Saints cut him. He initially signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent out of Illinois State back in 2015. The small-school product burst onto the scene in 2016 as he racked up 888 yards and four touchdowns. He looked like a potential star in the making and was set to enter 2017 as Chicago’s top receiver, until he tore his ACL and suffered other damage in his knee during the preseason.
He missed the entire season, but had still shown enough the year before to earn a two-year, $9.6MM offer sheet from the Saints. His knee continued to bother him during his time in New Orleans and he never got back to full strength, appearing in just six games and making only nine catches last year. After he again struggled with his knee this offseason, New Orleans cut bait. At this point, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever get back to his prior level.
After the Patriots released Antonio Brown, there was some hope that Meredith could come off PUP and provide their receiving corp with some reinforcements. They’ll now have to look elsewhere, and the return of rookie first-round pick N’Keal Harry, on injured reserve with an ankle injury, just got a lot more important.
Redskins Tight-Lipped On QB Situation
Dwayne Haskins finally made his highly anticipated NFL debut earlier Sunday, coming on in relief of Case Keenum in the Redskins’ loss to the Giants. Even though head coach Jay Gruden made the decision to bench Keenum, somehow the quarterback situation has gotten even less clear heading into Week 5. 
Speaking after the game, Gruden said that Keenum’s foot injury factored into his decision to pull him, according to Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com. Gruden also declined to name a starter for next week’s game against the Patriots. While that’s not too unusual, there are huge implications here. Reports of dysfunction in the building have been rapidly leaking out, as Gruden’s relationship with owner Dan Snyder and team president Bruce Allen has apparently deteriorated.
We also just heard that Gruden and the coaching staff thought Haskins would be better off redshirting his entire rookie year, so it sure sounds like his hand was forced by management. It was reported before the game that Haskins would relieve Keenum if he struggled, so it wasn’t a huge surprise. Haskins struggled mightily in his debut and threw three interceptions, and Gruden didn’t sound too enthusiastic about having to play him.
As such, it seems like there’s a real chance the team could go back to Keenum, especially with Gruden saying the foot injury played a part. However, Gruden might not get the chance to make the call. Just yesterday it was reported that Gruden could be fired by the team if they lost to the Giants, which they obviously did in ugly fashion.
There’s also a possibility that Colt McCoy could take over under center after Haskins’ disastrous performance. McCoy was listed as the team’s starter earlier in the offseason, but his recovery from a 2018 leg injury kept him sidelined until just recently. McCoy returned to practice this past week, and could get a crack at the starting job given the state of his competition. If Gruden is going to be fired, then it would likely happen tomorrow.
Raiders’ Jordan Devey Done For The Year
The interior of the Raiders’ offensive line just suffered another blow. Right guard Jordan Devey tore his pec and will miss the rest of the season, head coach Jon Gruden announced after the team’s victory over the Colts, per Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Devey has started each of the team’s first four games, filling in for injured starter Gabe Jackson. Oakland has been thin on the interior for a while, as left guard Richie Incognito was suspended for the first two games of the season and Jackson got hurt in training camp. Gruden told reporters that the team expects Jackson, one of the league’s highest-paid guards, to return in Week 7 following the team’s bye week.
That means they’ll need a new replacement for at least one more week. Denzelle Good filled in for Devey after he went down against the Colts, and will likely start in London next week against Chicago. Devey originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent back in 2013. He had stints with the Ravens, Patriots, 49ers, and Chiefs before signing a one-year deal with Oakland back in March. For his career, he’s made 42 appearances and 20 starts.
Injury Updates: Trubisky, Smith, Hockenson, Allen, Ingram, Mack, Stills
Perhaps the most significant injury of Week 4 afternoon games was Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky going down. Trubisky went down hard on his left shoulder, and was quickly ruled out before returning to the sideline with his arm in a sling. Bears coach Matt Nagy didn’t offer many details after the game, but he said he didn’t expect the injury to be season-ending, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). While it certainly could be worse, that does seem to suggest that the Bears expect Trubisky to miss at least a little time. Chase Daniel will fill in under center.
Here are more injury updates from around the league:
- Bears linebacker Roquan Smith was surprisingly inactive for the team’s win over the Vikings, and Nagy said after the game Smith’s absence was for personal reasons, Pelissero tweets. Nagy wouldn’t elaborate and wouldn’t say whether Smith’s personal issue would extend beyond this week. This will be something to monitor, as Smith is a key part of Chicago’s defense.
- Lions rookie tight end T.J. Hockenson took a hard hit in Detroit’s loss to the Chiefs, and was ruled out with a concussion. The Lions drafted Hockenson eighth overall back in April, and he’s shown a lot of promise in the first few games. He had three catches and a touchdown before going down against Kansas City, and is a big part of Detroit’s passing game. Hopefully he’ll be able to get cleared in time for Week 5.
- Speaking of concussions, Bills quarterback Josh Allen suffered one on a brutal hit in Buffalo’s loss to the Patriots. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game and if he can’t get cleared by next week, Matt Barkley will be under center. Allen was struggling before getting hurt and had thrown three interceptions, but Barkley wasn’t much better in relief.
- The Chargers’ injuries continued to pile up, as star pass-rusher Melvin Ingram left their game against the Dolphins and was quickly ruled out with a hamstring injury. Los Angeles was already one of the most banged up teams in the league, so this was the last thing they needed. Head coach Anthony Lynn said after the game that Ingram pulled a hamstring and they didn’t know how long he’d be out, according to a tweet from Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com.
- Colts running back Marlon Mack tweaked his ankle, but it doesn’t seem serious. Mack only had two carries in the second half, but he said after the game it was just “coach’s decision” to hold him out and that he expects to be fine for Indy’s Week 5 game against the Chiefs, according to Charlie Clifford of WISH 8 (Twitter link).
- Texans receiver Kenny Stills left his team’s loss to the Panthers with a hamstring injury, but it’s unclear how severe it is. After the game, head coach Bill O’Brien said the team would have to wait until Monday to determine the severity, per a tweet from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Stills would be a big loss, but Houston would still have a very solid receiving corp in Will Fuller, DeAndre Hopkins, and Keke Coutee without him.
Giants Fear Ryan Connelly Tore ACL
Ryan Connelly‘s promising time as a starter appears to have ended in devastating fashion. The Giants fear the rookie linebacker tore his ACL in their win over the Redskins, a source told Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.
It isn’t official yet but since field tests for ACL tears are extremely accurate, he almost certainly is out for the season. It’s a really tough blow for New York, as they’re already quite thin at linebacker. Alec Ogletree and Tae Davis both are dealing with injuries at the moment, which thrust Connelly into the starting role. Connelly was playing really well before going down, notching a sack and an interception.
He also had an interception in their win over the Buccaneers last week, and was looking like a potential key piece of the defense moving forward. The Giants drafted Connelly in the fifth round, 143rd overall, back in April. New York has been rejuvenated by the insertion of rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, and they now sit at 2-2. They’re right back in the thick of things, but the defense is now very banged up.
Chargers TE Sean Culkin Tears Achilles
The Chargers’ depth took yet another blow during their win over the Dolphins on Sunday. After the game, head coach Anthony Lynn announced that tight end Sean Culkin had torn his Achilles.
Obviously, he’ll miss the rest of the season. Due to injuries Culkin had been thrust into a pretty big role, playing 58 percent of the team’s offensive snaps last week against Houston. He had one catch for 12 yards against the Dolphins before going down. Culkin originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Missouri back in 2017. With Culkin out for the year, the Chargers’ tight ends room is now extremely thin.
Starter Hunter Henry is still at least a couple of weeks away with his knee injury, and normal backup Virgil Green missed the Miami game with a groin injury. Los Angeles recently signed veteran Lance Kendricks, and he’s now the only healthy tight end on the roster. Naturally, people will start buzzing about Antonio Gates, but the Chargers have resisted any talk of a reunion up to this point.
‘Huge Surprise’ If Dak Prescott Signs Extension Soon?
Just a few weeks ago, it looked like Dak Prescott was going to sign an extension with the Cowboys very soon. Dallas’ owner Jerry Jones went so far as to call a deal “imminent.” Only a week later we heard that talks had stalled a little bit, and now we have further confirmation of that. 
It would be a “huge surprise” if something got done in the near future, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (video link), who reports he’s getting “strong indications” that nothing is close. Fowler has been told that Prescott is “willing to wait this out,” and is in no rush to sign an extension. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirms that no extension is expected in the near future. Prescott has been playing the best ball of his career and has all the leverage right now, so that’s not too surprising.
Since Prescott wasn’t a first-round pick like fellow 2016 draft class passers Carson Wentz and Jared Goff, he had no fifth-year option in his contract and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March. The Cowboys could of course always franchise tag him if they can’t work something out, but that would be less than ideal.
The Jones family has been adamant all along that a deal will get done, but Prescott and his representatives are clearly playing hardball in negotiations. The Cowboys finally managed to lock up Ezekiel Elliott right before the start of the season, but are at an impasse with Prescott and top receiver Amari Cooper. Cooper is reportedly content to play out his contract and become a free agent, and it looks like both will be without new deals for a while. The lack of progress clearly isn’t hurting Dallas’ on-field product, as they’ve raced out to a 3-0 record.